Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Kevin Gravel played in the NAHL for the Marquette Rangers. In 58 games for the Rangers, Gravel scored 3 goals and added 11 assists for 14 points. He played for Team USA at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

2009-10: Gravel’s rookie season in the USHL with the Sioux City Muskateers. In 53 games for the Muskateers, he scored 3 goals and added 3 assists for 6 points. He participated in the 2010 USHL All-Star Game. Fallon was injured for a bit in the early part of the season.

2010-11: Gravel skated in 36 of 38 games as a freshman at St. Cloud State and provided steady, if unspectacular, defense-first play for the Huskies. Gravel’s -7 plus/minus could partly be attributed to the Huskies’ team struggles; St. Cloud slid to eighth (tied) in the WCHA after reaching the NCAA tournament one season earlier. Offensively, Gravel scored 1 goal with 5 assists.

2011-12: Gravel was a fixture on the second pairing for St. Cloud State as a sophomore and played for the USA in the 2012 U20 World Junior Championship. He scored 1 goal with 7 assists and was plus-two with 12 penalty minutes in 37 games. The Huskies struggled to stay above .500 for much of the year; finishing sixth in the WCHA during the regular season and falling to eventual champion North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five quarterfinal game. Gravel played six games for the seventh-place USA at the WJC and was plus-two with 1 goal.

2012-13: Gravel played in all 42 games for St. Cloud State in his junior season. Paired with sophomore Tim Daly, he scored 1 goal with 11 assists and was +2 with 25 penalty minutes. The Huskies finished tied with Minnesota for first in the WCHA and rebounded from a loss to Wisconsin in the WCHA semifinals to reach the Frozen Four. St. Cloud State defeated Notre Dame (5-1) and Miami (4-1) to capture the NCAA Midwest Regional before falling to Quinnipiac, 4-1, in the Frozen Four semifinals.

2013-14: Gravel made his pro hockey debut with Los Angeles AHL affiliate Manchester in April following his senior season at St. Cloud State. In five regular season games with the Monarchs he was -3 with no points and five penalty minutes. Gravel was the leading scorer amongst defensemen for St. Cloud State in his final season with the Huskies. St. Cloud State finished first in the initial National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season and reached the finals of the NCAA West Regional. After being swept by Miami in a two-game NCHA quarterfinal series, St. Cloud State defeated Notre Dame 4-3 in overtime in the NCAA West regional semifinal before falling to Minnesota, 4-0.

2014-15: Gravel attended the Los Angeles Kings training camp but did not receive an NHL contract, signing an AHL deal with Kings’ AHL affiliate Manchester. Skating in 58 of 72 regular season games for the Calder Cup champion Monarchs in his first pro season, he scored 6 goals with 9 assists and was +15 with 23 penalty minutes. Manchester had the league’s best record in the regular season, finishing first in the Atlantic Division, and rolled through the playoffs; defeating Western Conference champion Utica in the finals. Gravel had 5 assists and was +2 with no penalties in 19 playoff games. The Kings signed him to a two-year entry-level contract in June 2015.

2015-16: Gravel made his NHL debut with Los Angeles in a February 11th game against the New York Islanders, skating in four games with the Kings before being returned to AHL affiliate Ontario. He had no points nor penalties and was -1, averaging 11 minutes of ice time with the Kings. Gravel is the second-leading scorer amongst defensemen for the Reign behind former Miami University standout Vincent LoVerde. Ontario is battling with the Texas Stars for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Talent Analysis

Gravel has very good skating for his size, including a good first step. His defensive positioning is exceptional and has become a real staple and defining factor to his game. He should have more points than he does given his puck skills and shot.

Future

Gravel is skating for re-located Kings' AHL affiliate Ontario in 2015-16 — appearing in four games with Los Angeles in February during his first NHL call-up — and is one of the Reign's top defensemen. In the first year of a two-year entry-level contract signed in June 2015, he is making headway at cracking what has been a strong blueline corps in Los Angeles. Gravel uses his size to advantage and can generate offense off the transition. He projects as a solid middle pairing defenseman.

Photo: Lake Erie Monsters defenseman and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Zach Werenski has been impressive in AHL action since turning pro at the end of the 2015-16 NCAA season (courtesy of Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Lake Erie Monsters coach Jared Bednar understands the challenge in front of his team as it prepares for the Calder Cup Western Conference Finals against the Ontario Reign.

The Reign are the defending champions, having won the title last season as the Manchester Monarchs, and return 15 players with championship rings. In addition, Ontario is big, physical and plays “Los Angeles Kings-style hockey” that wins in the playoffs. Read more»

Photo: LA Kings prospect Michael Amadio is engaged in a tough second-round playoff series but the veteran OHL player might still will his team to a comeback (courtesy of Aaron Bell/OHL Images)

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The Los Angeles Kings are into the NHL postseason, facing the San Jose Sharks in what should be one of the best first-round series. The Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, have clinched their division and are also into the postseason. The Kings also have had players with amazing junior seasons – Spencer Watson and Michael Amadio in particular – and can boast of one with an NCAA national title (Paul LaDue). Read more»

Photo: LA Kings top prospect Adrian Kempe plays an advanced pro game despite being still just 19 years old (courtesy of Lee Calkins)

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The Los Angeles Kings system remains robust in role players, grinders, and two-way defensemen. This has always seemed to be the case. However, the organization is starting to see a nice evolution from a few players within the system. When you have so few high end picks, you have to hope for the growth of the Mersch’s, the Dowd’s, and the Auger’s of the pipeline to come through for you in filling in the gaps. While some of these players are in the very nascent stages of their careers and development paths, they are starting to rise just like the development team had hoped.

Photo: Los Angeles Kings prospect Nick Ebert has offensive skills that could translate to the NHL level but needs to use his time in the AHL developing a better sense of when to make safe defensive plays (courtesy of David Sheehan)

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‏After a big move from the east coast to the west coast, and a name change, not much else has changed. The newly-branded Ontario Reign are coming into this season as defending champions of the AHL, and they are playing like it early on. Part of the reason is that the Los Angeles Kings have a pretty loaded group of AHL prospects. While other systems may have a high amount of CHL or college prospects, most of the Kings’ picks from years past are now at the AHL level. Surprisingly though, only one of the players is a first round selection (Adrian Kempe).

Photo: Los Angeles Kings prospect Adrian Kempe made a quick transition to the AHL, showing a skill level that makes him the team’s top prospect (courtesy of Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

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With NHL prospects, we are almost always presented with two major questions: “Can they follow up a strong season?” and “How will they adapt at the next level?” The Los Angeles Kings prospect pool has many rather high profile players falling into one or both of these categories this coming season. Read more»